'What we learned': Red Sox' 13-9 loss to Orioles

'What we learned': Red Sox' 13-9 loss to Orioles

1) Enjoy what you're seeing from Mookie Betts - it's rare indeed

The three-homer game by Betts on Tuesday night was special enough, a sort of once-in-a-career display by a young but immensely talented player.

But on Wednesday, it became fairy-tale like, with another leadoff homer from Betts in the first, and remarkably, another one in the second inning, too, giving him five homers in the span of seven at-bats.

"Sometimes, you never see this in a career,'' said John Farrell. "But we're blessed to be able to watch Mookie every night from out dugout.''

Earlier Wednesday, Orioles GM Dan Duquette was marveling at the power generated from a player the size of Betts and remarking about his bat speed and quick hands.

And after not hitting a homer to the opposite field for his entire career until he hit his third one on Tuesday night, Betts did it again with his first homer Wednesday, demonstrating his aptitude and strength.

For his part, Betts seems bemused by the attention he's getting over the last few days, insisting that he doesn't consider himself a home run hitter, but more of a "gap-to-gap doubles guy.''

To put Betts' accomplishments into perspective, only two previous Red Sox players have ever hit five homers in two game -- one was a Hall of Famer (Carl Yastrzesmki) and the other performed like a Hall of Famer for his first seven or seasons with the Red Sox (Nomar Garciaparra).

That's not to suggest that Betts is necessarily ticketed for Cooperstown, or even, a career as brilliant as Garciaparra's was for the first seven or so seasons in Boston.

But it does suggest an almost limitless amount of talent and athleticism. How that manifests itself will be fascinating to watch the rest of the season and years to come.

2) Clay Buchholz is going to need some time to adapt to the bullpen

Buchholz was impressive pitching the 10th inning Sunday in Toronto, two days after being sent to the pen, tossing a scoreless inning and picking up the win.

On Wednesday, the transition wasn't quite as seamless.

The Sox waited until the fourth so that Buchholz could start an inning clean with no baserunners. Initially, he responded, retiring six of the first eight hitters he faced over the course of two innings.

But in the sixth, Buchholz once again fell prey to the same sort of big inning that dogged him as a starter, and while he didn't get much help from home plate umpire Doug Eddings' wandering strike zone, Buchholz has to ultimately take responsibility for putting the baserunners on.

From there, a rare error by Dustin Pedroia let a run in and extended the inning. The seventh was more of the same as Buchholz faced three hitters and retired only one before being lifted.

"At some point, we've got to take more control from the mound,'' said John Farrell.

It's not reasonable to expect that Buchholz, who, until this weekend, hadn't pitched out of the bullpen since 2008, to immediately take to his job.

But because he now serves as the team's long man, having been stretched out for the first two months in the rotation, the Sox have to pick their spots with him carefully.

On Wednesday, when they turned to him in a slugfest that was still a game they could win, he didn't help enough.

3) Hanley Ramirez needs a day or two, or, at the very least, another spot in the lineup for a while.

Ramirez is the midst of an honest-to-goodness slump. He was 0-for-5, dropping him to 4-for-20 on the road trip so far. But the skid dates back quite a bit longer.

Since the Red Sox played their doubleheader in Kansas City two weeks ago, Ramirez is 9-for-48 (.188) with no extra-base hits.

Ramirez looks jumpy at the plate. In the eighth inning, the Red Sox were hinting at another late-inning comeback, with the bases loaded. David Ortiz had just drawn a walk from closer Zach Britton.

Trailing by four, a big hit would have put the Red Sox right back in the game. But Ramirez lunged at the first pitch from Britton and hit into an inning-ending force play.

The Sox have options. They can move Travis Shaw to first base and give Ramirez some time to figure some things out on the side. Failing that, given the depth of the lineup and the explosiveness of the team's offense, it would seem wise to insert someone else into the fifth spot behind David Ortiz - Shaw or, when he returns on Friday, Jackie Bradley Jr., could fill that role.